Katagiri drabbles
by robot-ninja-wizard accountant
Summary: A series of short stories exploring the character of Kanae Katagiri, wife of Ryuuken and mother of Uryuu. Contains several slice of life stories, but also includes some AUs and other things. Does contain spoilers for recent chapters. Ryuugiri
1. Laundry

Laundry

Katagiri often did laundry at the Ishida house. Laundry isn't a particularly physical task, and the complexity of the matter varies. Katagiri often reflected on all the problems with Quincy laundry, so much so that she had formed a mental list of all the things that she hated about Quincy laundry. On some level, she realized that having this list was not entirely healthy, but she was proud of it anyway. Besides Katagiri knew that thinking about all the reasons that she hates laundry was in some ways better than thinking about things like: why her crush is going to marry a woman that doesn't love him, why she is working for such a messed up family in the first place, or if the Ishida's are even crazier than her family (maybe all Quincy families are crazy- they do see dead people)...No, laundry list... laundry list... Number 1...

Quincy place high value on their uniforms being pure white.

- Keeping clothes white is not an impossible task, but made much more difficult by numbers 2-4

The Quincy uniform is made up of both white and blue.

- Now usually Katagiri could making sure the blue doesn't stain the white by remembering to wash cold when uniforms are new and trying to get the uniforms made of fabrics that won't bleed. But the fact that the uniforms are not pure white, meant that Katagiri couldn't just douse everything in bleach, rather she had to go figuring out appropriate stain removers because…

Killing Hollows is not a sweat free activity

- Katagiri knew some Quincy that if you watched them, you might think that killing hollows is easier than making breakfast. Appearances lie. Katagiri had seen the uniforms, and BO stains don't lie.

Sometimes blood is involved.

- Believe it or not, sometimes during fights with giant undead monsters trying to devour your soul, blood gets on the uniform. Blood is notoriously hard to get out too, especially when you can't use bleach.

Quincy often love having most of their clothing either be white or blue.

- White clothes stain easy. Katagiri really doesn't want to be on laundry duty when Ryuken gets a kid, because she will not be responsible for keeping that kid's clothes white.

You had to wash the uniforms separate from the normal whites because the metal bits aren't all detachable and will sometimes tear the fabric of more delicate whites.

- Yeah you try telling the lady of the house that her favor bra is ruined because it got mixed in with her husband's Quincy uniform.

Sometimes Katagiri thought the Quincy uniform was designed simply to vex her. During those times, she likes to imagine making changes to the Quincy uniform so that the areas with the most blue or the areas most likely to get blood and sweat on them, could be separate pieces for easy maintenance, but then you have to worry about reaction time with a uniform with too many pieces. It was something to think about during the folding part. Katagiri often thinks about many things during the time, but then Katagiri has done a lot of laundry.

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Author's Note:

I don't own anything. This was meant to be somewhat humorous (Katagiri _does_ seems to spend a great deal of time being sad)- if it wasn't at least alittle humorous, tell me and I won't try to be humorous again. I think people were wanting more Katagiri- so now she has two fics :), but still no character category for fanfic :(. The thing I love most about the Quincy's is besides the fact that they have super powers and fight monsters, they are perfectly normal. They have to go to school, do their homework, and find jobs. Quincy have to pay taxes and bills. Quincy have to do laundry.


	2. Rock bottom

Ryuuken knew what hell was like. Hell is watching your wife hooked up to all those damn machines and being so utterly powerless. Oh the irony of it all, that he would be the one left with his Quincy powers, but to feel so powerless. What did all the Quincy powers in the world mean if you couldn't save your own wife?

At the beginning, he had hope that she would wake up and they could start planning their life around this change. But it seems that the loss of her Quincy powers had somehow made it that much harder for her body to struggle against the cancer. There was still so much that is just not known about cancer and the human body.

When they first found out that Kanae was sick, Ryuuken had started researching right away, working to make sure that she had the best doctors. After all those years of her taking care of him, he was going to take care of her, but once again her failed. What miserable karma he must have had in his past life, so that all he ever wanted to do was protect and yet he fails every single time. Ryuuken was almost glad when Isshin had originally blamed him as he struggled to explain to the shinigami why Masaki had died. Someone needed to blame him for what happened, but it seems that Isshin has forgiven him too, once he found out about Kanae.

Then there was Uryuu, who didn't completely understand what was going on, but wanted his mother back. Rational Ryuuken would explain to Uryuu the truth about being a Quincy. Tell him that his mother was going to die and now it was just a matter of time, but rationally had left Ryuuken when the only person that he trusted with his whole being collapsed. Ryuuken wanted to keep Uryuu innocent to the cruelty of the world, and if that meant that Uryuu transferred all his anger about Kanae's death toward Ryuuken then he would finally get what he deserved. He deserved hate because he tried his best and his best wasn't good enough, and Ryuuken would never forgive himself for that.

Hell is sitting there running thoughts of what could have been and should have been, and knowing that things will never be the same. Kanae Katagiri had been the one person that had been with him though it all. She was the one that had always listened to his problems. She was the one that helped him pick himself up when he lost all hope in himself. Damn it! She promised that you would always protect him. How could she protect him from a grave? He wasn't strong enough to do it alone, to be a good father and a good doctor and a good Quincy.

So this is what rock bottom feels like. So this is what it is like to lose all hope. Was it really Kanae who died because Ryuuken could swear that this is hell?

Author's Note: sorry for the wait, end of the school year is busy. There will be many updates over the summer. I have tons of ideas, but as always I own nothing.

Sorry, I refuse to accept the mysterious "weakness" disease, so I decided that Katagiri would have either MS or cancer in this drabble and this is what came out. I hope that I haven't offended anyone, and if anyone has any strong preference toward what medical condition I am willing to revise for future chapters.


	3. Funeral

AU- Funeral

Ichigo decided he didn't like funerals. He only sort of understood why his mother was making him go to this one. It had to do with the Quincy thing. His mother was telling him about the Quincy thing.

It all started three months ago, when he was walking home with his mother and saw a girl by the river. Only now he knows it wasn't really a girl, but a "hollow" trying to trick him into thinking he was a little girl. Mom was starting to explain about the "hollows." Apparently, they were these monsters, but they weren't always monsters, they used to be ghosts. So they were ghosts that turned into monsters, and his mother fights them, or fought them. Just after he saw her kill the monster with her superhero bow (because obviously if his mother is fighting monsters then she is some like of super hero like you see in manga or American comics), Mom collapsed. At first he thought that she had just exerted herself too much killing the monster because it was super strong, but apparently Mom might have lost her powers for some reason that she hadn't quite explained to Ichigo. Ichigo has overheard her talking to Dad about it, but he didn't really understand.

Anyway, the dead woman had had super spirit powers too, and she had lost them the same day as mommy, but apparently she was really sick and so she died without her super power. Ichigo was really glad that his Mom hadn't died that day. He wasn't sure what he would have done; Mom was the center of the whole family.

Mom was super paranoid these days though. Apparently he had spirit powers like Mom which meant that more of those monster things would attack him. Ichigo thought the monsters were really scary, but if he could do the arrow thing like Mom then maybe he would be fine. However, Mom didn't seem too keen on Ichigo learning to becoming a Quincy (that meant one of the people who could do the cool arrow thing). Instead she decided to take him here, although Ichigo had no idea how that would help anything.

Furthermore, there only seemed to be one other person his age here too, a dark hair boy with glasses that kept crying. Ichigo had asked why the boy was crying so much, and was told that the dead woman was the boy's mother. Ichigo wondered if that meant that she was the center of his family like Mom was the center of theirs. It made Ichigo really glad that his mother was still alive. He would have cried at least twice as much if Mom had lost her powers before she could kill the monster, and it had killed her. Ichigo didn't really know what to say to the crying boy, but he decided that he would remember him- Ishida Uryuu, the other boy with a super hero mom.

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Author's Note: So this is me trying to write like a 9 year boy thinks- feel free to mock. It might be a stretch to call this a Katagiri fic, but why hasn't fanfiction exploded with "for want of a nail" style fics now that we know what happened with Ichigo's parents? As always I own nothing.


	4. Kitchen 1

Author's Note: No I have not died. Sorry to disappoint. Don't own anything either.

Mistress of the House

Kanae didn't actually remember whose idea this was, but at this point it didn't matter. They were all co-conspirators now and all three of them looked like they were going to be in deep trouble for a while. Kanae was terrified about what her mother would do when they got home, but she didn't entirely regret her actions either. It was strange that she could remember just an hour ago when she was so proud of herself, Katagiri Kanae, master of the Ishida kitchen. She had been so clever and mature, getting the kitchen all to herself all so they could eat and play together.

Years from now Kanae might be considered quite a good cook, but at age 11 she was still learning. None the less she was proud of herself for each culinary success, and was working toward improving her skills. Kanae tended to be in the background, to be the support, but she liked winning almost as much as Ryuuken, and for very similar reasons. When often ignored by ones parents, a hint of praise is like a ray of sunshine. When made powerless by hollows, rules, secrets, every small victory is like conquering a mountain. Being in control of that kitchen was the biggest power trip that she had gotten for the longest time. Success made all the sweeter because it made them happy too.

Ryuuken had fussed the first couple of times, that Masaki and himself should not be in the kitchen like servants, but that didn't stop him from following along (to protect them of course, because there are so many dangers in the kitchen that Kanae and Masaki might need a 11-year-old Quincy protege to protect them from). Kanae had learned that Ryuuken had a natural weak spot, when both Masaki and she wanted to do something, no matter how many rules were violated; all three of them would end up doing it. Maybe it was all in her head, but Kanae felt that Ryuuken liked watching her act all confident and in charge. Well, she knew he liked that big goofy grin that would come on Masaki's face.

Masaki was a glutton. She loved food, and she ate a ton of it. All the food explained all the energy, because Masaki was not the type of girl to sit still and pay attention for long periods of time. If Masaki was too still or quiet for any length of time, she was either very sad or off daydreaming in Masaki world. Not at Masaki couldn't concentrate or relax or…Masaki was Masaki, there was no point trying to put it in words because it wasn't like they would want her any other way. Ryuuken loved to spoil Masaki, and Katagiri found herself enjoying it to. That girl has a talent for the puppy dog eyes, and when Kanae would make her something, well stronger men and women than Kanae, have been charmed by the pure adorableness that is a happy Masaki.

Kanae had just been laying out the ingredients, when the true mistress of the Ishida House had found them. It had been harmless fun: Kanae learning to cook, Masaki getting to eat, and Ryuuken getting to relax and play with them instead of endless training and studying. After the lecture, Kanae could not imagine that any of them were completely free of the sense of guilt for just trying to have fun and relax. Kanae hated being a Gemischt Quincy. All she wanted to do was spend time with her friends, why did that have to be such a crime.

Next time she would do better. There would be not more playing in the kitchen, but Kanae was still Ryuuken's servant and protector. She wasn't going to give up on making him smile. Not if it was the last thing she did.


	5. Enjoying the breaks

"Mommy, mommy, I want to wear the boots"

Every day this week Uryuu had stated that he wanted to wear his rain boots, when there had not been a cloud in sight. She had tried to explain that if he wore his rain boots everyday, then it would not be special for when it did rain. What if he ruined them? But he insisted, everyday coming up with a different reason: he like the way they felt, he wanted to wear all blue today and how can he wear all blue if his shoes aren't blue, and her personal favorite, cowboys wear boots (Kanae didn't know much about cowboys, but she was fairly certain they didn't wear rain boots around everywhere and told her son as much).

Three years old and a bundle of energy, he never failed to impress her with how clever and inquisitive her little man could be. But as all parents learn, it is the smart ones that can be the most difficult, always find a way around rules, always questioning reasoning, and always getting into things that you would rather they not.

Kanae was exhausted, when she put Uryuu to bed at night. So when Ryuuken came home after a long day at the hospital, they more likely then not just collapsed in bed, quickly falling asleep. Sometimes they would have a little fun, but other times they would use their remaining energy to just talk.

Kanae liked just lying against her big warm husband. They would talk about they respective days, as his fingers would trace patterns up her arms onto her neck. She could feel the strength of his arms as it cradled her head against his body. The soft-spoken words and mellow atmosphere filled her with a contentment she could find nowhere else.

Being a mom was a full time job, and one that she loved most dearly, but she loved her stolen moments alone with Ryuuken. Sometimes mommy needs a break.

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Authors Note:

Don't own anything. Hope you like the cuddling. Probably worth stating now, no I don't plan on doing an explicit sex scene, there are plenty of writers that would do that much better than I, and I feel that my stories add enough to the fan community without that(:P yeah that last bit sounds pretentious whatever). All knowledge of three- year-old's comes from having lots of cousins. As always feel free to SCREAM/type your burning hatred/burning passion/non-flaming emotions to me in the review (or not, that is cool too).


	6. Kitchen 2

Her fingers glided over the designs on the fine plates and her eyes followed the flowers decorating the fine silver. It seemed so surreal. This was going to be hers. How many times had she taken some plate of food off to one of the real members of the house. This simple act of going through the house again as Ryuuken's finance, was making her reexamine ever aspect of this house. Being a member of the Quincy was a life full of history and tradition, but perhaps because she was not a pure-blood Quincy she had never felt as connected to it as she felt now staring at a bunch of plates.

But they weren't just plates as she listened to her soon to be mother-in-law talk about how they had been in the family for four generations now. Everything had history in this house, everything had a tradition that must be upheld and now she was in going to be in charge of all that.

Her marriage to Ryuuken never felt more real, and she found herself excited. Like many young unwed women, she had lived with her parents while working saving up money that she would now most likely never need. This would be her first experience with being in control of her own living space. Even with the weight of the Ishida history on her back, this is what she had figured all girls must dream of. Falling in love with Ryuuken at such a young age and knowing how far apart they were in status, she had never allowed herself to really dream of actually getting to marry him. All she had wanted was to marry so that she could still stay at his side and to have a space of her own, a place where she was in control. Now she was quickly approaching both a marriage to Ryuuken and control over the place most associated with her helplessness. She wasn't just mistress of a house; she was mistress of THE house, the house where before she had been a half-blood servant not worth a moment's glance. She was having a hard time not getting lost in the strangle tingling that seemed to run through her as she walked through the giant house that she had walked so many times before. She was really going to be in control for the first time.

As the Ishida matriarch led her around the house stressing duties and responsibilities, all of which she assumed Kanae would completely screw up, Kanae found her impressed by how much there was so much of the house too. She had always known that the Ishida family was well off, but she never noticed all stuff that entailed. That was going to be her salt shaker, chairs, grandfather clock, serving utensils, library of books, collection of rugs and vases, etc. All these things had been accumulated over many years, many generations so that is was daunting to think of ever accumulating near this on her own. Then came the question of what would she add.

She wanted so badly to add something now so that some day her daughter or daughter-in-law would come to see her as really part of this Quincy tradition. Because the Quincy tradition is so much more than just the fighting techniques. The Quincy tradition is the moral code, the sense of honor, the society,the history, and even the more physical things they left behind. Being a Quincy was a balancing act between the world of the living and the duty toward the death. Because she was a Gemischt Quincy, she had always felt dissociated with the Quincy tradition because to her it felt that she would never really be a part of it. Her was to be a life of unexamined service before a painful and untimely death. Now she had an outlet for leaving something behind.

"Are you even paying any attention to what I am saying?"

"Yes, mistress. I am doing my best to remember everything. You were just explaining how in 1952, it came to be that there are only 19 of the tea and coffee plates when there are 24 matching cups. Do you wish me to recite the details so to make sure that I have them all correctly?"

"I don't wish for you to do anything put keep up. He have covering everything in glass dining cupboard, so I would like to move on the kitchen. I assume you know what to do in the kitchen"

"Yes, mistress I am familiar with the kitchen. Do you have any special instructions to that regard?"

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This was not originally what I had planned for the second part of my kitchen theme, but it is something that wanted to come out. I'm not really sure I really captured that bizarre feeling you have when you realize: oh my gosh I am not a kid any more, I am a woman with control and possession over my own space. Or for that matter, the wonderment of owning family heirlooms when you realize that you have not only been intrusted with this history, but you are becoming part of the history. Don't know if this is in character or not. It is still very internal rant-y, which I am sorry about. Please tell me if you think the chapters are getting worse.


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